Inside the B: Q&A with Jero Cúneo

Read this Q&A in Spanish.

The Inside the B Q&A series follows employees from all across the B Global Network as they share more about their roles and what brought them to B Lab, the challenges they see for our network, and give us a peek into their personal lives. Jero discusses his collaborating with Sistema B Country Partner communications teams, growing awareness of the B Corp movement without diluting its integrity, and how growing up as the youngest of six children toughened him.

Luisa Goldaracena, Director of Communications at Sistema B Internacional: What organization are you a part of and what work are you currently focused on?

Jero Cúneo, Communications Coordinator at Sistema B Internacional: I work at Sistema B Internacional, as Communications Coordinator, and am based in Buenos Aires. My tasks today are to support the teams of the 10 countries with which we work, helping to articulate communication at the regional level with campaigns, social networks, and internal communications.

I have been working on the same team for three years, although my tasks have changed as the organization has grown and changed in different ways. The thing I like the most about my job is working with the Country Partner communications teams, helping them solve problems and collaborate by bringing creativity to their projects. I also like that in Sistema B we never know what might happen tomorrow, and that means no one can ever get bored.

Luisa: What were you doing before working at Sistema B Internacional?

Jero: I studied social communication, which is a very broad degree and covers all areas of communication: journalism, advertising, public relations, internal communication, and other topics. After studying, I worked as a community manager for a few years, until I moved to Mexico and started working at a B Corp that makes helpful content on social entrepreneurship for Latin America, giving entrepreneurs the tools to learn about and enter the entrepreneurial world. That was my gateway to the B Corp Movement.

Luisa: What do you see as some of the B Global Network’s biggest challenges now and in the next few years?

Jero: I can only answer this from the perspective of communication. I believe that the biggest challenge of the B Corp Movement is to reach massiveness, without losing coherence and taking great care of what B Corp Certification means. Today, many people have the paradigm that popularizing B means destroying its spirit, but I believe that there is a way to achieve this by working with order and having a clear global vision.

Luisa: Is there someone in the network who's been instrumental in your success that you’d like to call out for appreciation?

Jero: I would like to thank Marcel Fukayama [former Executive Director of Sistema B Internacional and Head of Global Policy at B Lab Global], who has been an inspiration to me, for his passion and self-control. With the Sistema B Internacional team, we have gone through moments of a lot of work and stress, the pandemic with all its challenges, and Marcel always showed great leadership capacity. He knew how to bring tranquility and listening in those moments of uncertainty, even when there was no clarity.

Most importantly, I owe my path within the B Corp movement to you, Luisa. You have accompanied me, taught me, and had a lot of patience during these three years. It is not easy to be a leader of such a small team and in such a changing organization, but you have been able to achieve good things by having faith in my abilities and teaching me that the results of a job well done come with dedication and effort.

Luisa: Where were you born and raised? Can you share more about your upbringing and family life?

Jero: I was born in Buenos Aires 31 years ago, in a neighborhood on the outskirts of the city, with low houses and one block from the Río de la Plata. I am the youngest of six siblings, something that defines my personality in many aspects, because on the one hand I am a bit spoiled, but I also had to learn to defend myself and fight for what belongs to me, without time to lose.

Luisa: What languages do you speak?

Jero: I speak Spanish, my native language. I have taken English classes and I have improved a lot, but when I have to speak on a call, I freeze and nothing comes out. If you are patient with me, I can do it.

Luisa: Do you have a routine you follow every day? What’s something you do to start your mornings?

Jero: My daily routine is to walk my dog ​​and make myself a mate at 10 a.m., which is a typical drink from Argentina, very similar to tea, but it is drunk with a straw. Three times a week I go swimming, and every day I try to read at least a few pages of a book, especially novels.

Luisa: What’s a dish you can make with your eyes closed?

Jero: I am very good at making apple crumble, accompanied by whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. If you visit me, I will gladly prepare it for you ;)

Luisa: What’s something that reminds you of home?

Jero: The smell of baked lemon cake is something that takes me back to Sundays when my sisters would make it and make me wait for it to cool down to eat it. While they were cooking it, they were pretending to be the hosts of a cooking show and I was the cameraman.

Luisa: What’s something that’s made you feel like a student again?

Jero: I have liked to read all my life, but I had not been able to create a routine to do it. However, the pandemic helped me to be more orderly with my habits and I managed to start reading daily until I read four books a month. With each one I start I feel like I'm immersing myself in a different world and I learn from its narrators or characters.